I shift to make room for him. He’s dusty and uncharacteristically grim, and he reaches out to grip Naudar’s hand. “Well, Naudar, that rebel really sliced you open, didn’t she?”

Naudar smiles, though it turns into a grimace. He opens his mouth as if to speak, but then seems to change his mind. Walgash and I exchange another glance. It doesn’t look good, and we both know it. I stop fussing with the bandages and squeeze Naudar’s arm. There’s nothing more I can do. My eyes burn, and I don’t bother to wipe away my tears.

A few moments later, Naudar lets out a rattling breath, and then he falls still.

My chest caves in on itself.

Walgash reaches over and closes Naudar’s eyes. “We’ll get them back for you,” he says. Then he lays a heavy hand on my shoulder as I struggle to breathe. “We’ll get them,” he says, this time to me.

And that’s when I realize—if Walgash is here, who is defending the entrance?

I turn toward the opening, but Walgash speaks. “There are no more rebels. Arxa’s watching the entrance.”

And indeed, I see Arxa at the mouth of the crevice, his back toward us. At the sound of his name, he calls over his shoulder. “Walgash, report.”

“Naudar is dead, sir. The prince is unharmed. Dineas and I have minor scrapes.”

Arxa’s shoulders tighten. “Lay him to rest,” he says. “The rebels have pulled back, but we can’t stay long.”

It kills me to leave Naudar’s body here in the middle of nowhere, but there’s nothing to be done. We fold his arms over his chest and make our way out.

Wind hits my face as soon as I step into the open. We survey the damage. Bodies litter the hillside, and their blood stains the ground.

“Rebel dogs,” Walgash growls under his breath.

Arxa turns to Kiran. “I don’t think that was a natural landslide, Your Highness,” he says. “It was too small. There’s a good chance we have soldiers alive on the other side. I advise that we try to find our way to them.”

Kiran nods his assent. He steps out and looks over the bodies and raises his hand high. “May Neju guide you into Zenagua’s arms and grant you your rich reward,” he says. We bow our heads.

Arxa takes the lead when we head off again, while I bring up the rear. The entire mountainside is steep, and we end up using our hands as often as our feet to keep from sliding down. Thankfully, Arxa proves right about the landslide. The trail soon emerges above us, and we climb back up to it. There are signs of fighting here as well. The ground is red and trampled by many feet. There are bodies, but only a handful.